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Thursday, 19 April 2001
lifesavers for bush
friends of the earth netherlands calls on us
to stick to its climate promises
This afternoon thirty Friends of the Earth
activists dressed in yellow oilskins hung
lifesavers on the fence surrounding the
American consulate in Amsterdam. One of the
lifesavers has Bush's name on it and is
accompanied by a letter. In the letter
Friends of the Earth calls on President Bush
to stick to the Kyoto Protocol. The lifesaver
is a symbol for what will happen if nothing
is done to stop climate change.
Wijnand Duyvendak, Friends of the Earth
Netherlands director: "The United States is
responsible for one quarter of global
greenhouse gas emissions, with undisputed
statistics such as these to back out of the
climate treaty is an indefensible cowardice.
Bush must bring his country back to the
"Kyoto" pledge to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in industrialised countries - the
United States must live up to its
commitments."
The message to Bush is being sent on the
eve of a New York meeting between key
environmental ministers and the chair of the
international climate negotiations, Mr.
Pronk. The meeting is in preparation of the
climate talks in July in Bonn. Friends of the
Earth wants to see an agreement that will
actually lead to the five percent reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions as agreed in
Kyoto in 1997.
American climate policy, which was not
that good to start with, is suffering a
serious setback. Bush recently announced
billion dollar budget cuts in climate
measures and even went so far as to cast
doubt global warming, despite overwhelming
scientific consensus pointing to the dangers
of continued accelerated human-induced
climate change. Protests against his
standpoint are coming from all over the
world. Friends of the Earth Netherlands has
joined its international sister organisations
in an e-mail protest against Bush.
Protest E-mails can be sent at
http://www.foeeurope.org/climate
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